Sword
by Chustang
Summary: *********Updated 11/24/01******* Li is confronted by an old rival and is challenged to a battle to the death, while injured.
1. The Calm Before the Storm

Sword - Chapter One

Sword 

By Chustang Sundust   
  


Chapter 1   
"The Calm Before the Storm" 

  


Through wind-tossed, ominous black hair, a pair of vehement gray eyes seemed to analyze the land before him. A quiet and languid town whose sidewalks bristled with the feathery pink embrace of sakura trees lay invitingly at his feet. The mysterious figure, along with the magical weapon shining dull light along its blade, pulled up the collar of the dark cloak he wore. Another few hours… he thought restlessly.   
The unearthly warm wind of change and chaos was blowing steadily at his back; the choice to attack was made now, he was sure of it. Flickering his misty gray eyes aged years ahead of his body with cold intensity, he shook the cowl loose of its stiffness before drawing it over his wild black hair. The figure turned away from his rival's domain and left Reedington in peace to prepare for tomorrow's showdown.   


"Sakura!" Li yelled suddenly from behind her, but his voice was conquered by the raspy and dark voice of the storm that roared through their very existence. In the flinty gray depths of the Storm card's funnel cloud, it was hard enough to drive onward through the onslaught of ever shifting winds. With such fury pitted against them, the female Card Captor was constantly swinging the wand she and Li rode to avoid being trapped in its swirling vortex of wind. The wings that sprouted from the end of Sakura Avalon's Sealing Wand violently shook in their frame and the weightless, snow white feathers that were ripped away spiraled with no end into the dark storm clouds. In all the confusion and pure, chaotic nature, it would have been impossible for her to see Li rocking dangerously on the wand in the incessant darting and wheeling. If she had, at any moment, taking her concentration off staying airborne and in control it would have been as futile for them as a leaf in a whirlpool.   
Suddenly, a blast of wind attacked them from beneath and it rattled them from their ride. The two kids gave a yell of terror, as the lightweight Sealing Wand was ripped from their grasp. For a split second, their fingers lingered over nothing, left helpless to the storm, and one more blast would have been enough to finish them off. But it seemed the Card wasn't finished toying; Sakura was thrown back onto the wand and her momentum caused the thing to buckle and swing out.   
As a reaction, once recovered, she turned her head slightly to check on Li. It came as a shock when those fiery brown eyes she knew… simply weren't there. "Li?" she shouted at the top of her lungs, over the storm. Her green eyes went wide with shock, instantly wheeling the wand around, as she saw him plunging through the winds. "Oh my gosh! Li!" With tears of fear streaming down her face, she wrenched the neck of her ride downward into a dive afterward. This couldn't happen! No!   
Her mind blurred with images and each one showed the golden brown eyes of her precious with their magic. He'd haunt her mind constantly, and now, the storm of emotions and pictures was getting harder to shake off. Li, standing in her mind, rich green robes blowing around his frame, with his sword lifted up to his cheek; Li, leaping up to meet the Sword card with his own; Li, staring dreamily out the window at the sakura blossoms in Language class; Li, running down the field in Soccer, weaving easily with the ball through the crowd; Li, enchanting brown eyes watching the river, dipping his toes in; Li, groaning as Meilin tightly flung herself around his waist, then looking up to her.   
Sakura blinked away this onslaught of memories just to find she'd dropped back, and she urged the wand down. About fifty feet below her, she saw him grappling to free his sword from its hold in the intolerable wind force. His face twisted up in determination, and his brown hair whipped at his face. As if he was no more than a feather, the Storm cloud seemed to laugh in its windy voice while it tossed him around.   
Suddenly, his sword came lose and the experienced Card Captor wasted no time. Straining to lift the blade in the power and untamed attack of the wind, Li concentrated his magical powers that stirred in preparation deep within him. "Rai tei sho rai!" he screamed against the wind, snapping his intense brown eyes open to see Sakura rushing down the funnel to his aid. It dawned on him, just what he'd done, as the sword began to crackle with its lightning energy. "No, Sakura, get out of the way!" he warned desperately, knowing it was too late to avert his action.   
Light spilled mystically out in all directions, as sparks whipped across the blade then jolted around jaggedly, forming into a blast of lightning. Silence seemed to overcome the whirl of the Storm card, as the sword warmed up ominously, lit up, and then with a crack of light, spit lightning out in all directions. Li was flung back with the recoil that shot up his hand through the hilt he tightly clutched, and he barely could focus on the darting form of Sakura as the lightning chased after the flying object. Fear snatched at his eyes, darkening his world, and after hitting the ground violently, it was black.   


End Chapter 1 

****************   
Please go easy on flaming if your going to; this is my first CCS fic, alright! I'm a big fan of the series, but I can only see the English version, Cardcaptors, and they show it in very little order, so I've had little exposure to it. Sorry if I get something wrong; please tell me what and I'll fix it. My Syaoran-chan is so cute! – I just had to do a fic! And it had to be a fic where he was hurt, struggling, then is a big hero! Oops! Did I just give it away? R&R!!!! 

Chustang   



	2. Capture

Sword - Chapter Two

Sword 

By Chustang Sundust   
  


Chapter 2   
"Capture" 

  


The freshly sealed Storm card fell forgotten to the ground, beside a pile of debris that the whirl had caused as Sakura dashed across the wildflower field. It shook, fragments of wood and stone crumbling off it, as a scratched up, but healthy Kero burst from his prison. The small yellow creature groaned in pain, shaking the dust from his nose and eyes, and looked up to see what had happened. His gaze instantly landed on the Clow Card, and an ecstatic grin accompanied his triumphant yell. "Oh yeah! Nice one Sakura!" he said, fluttering his wings to carry himself over to it. Wry smile around his face, he took the card up in his stubby arms and somersaulted in the air. "I'll be back to normal in no time, now!"   
Kero blinked, perking his cute ears, as he realized there was no answer. Sakura was gone. Slipping the card under his arm, he darted into the starry sky to scan the silent field, which had been ravaged in the Storm card's fury. Golden dust drifting from his stringy feathers, he darted forward, noticing a shadowy figure near the tree line of the field. "Sakura? What are you doing?" he asked tentatively. The figure was about the same height and build as Sakura, but the clothes it wore resembled more the robes Li had. The guardian beast curiously flew nearer, focusing on the person who made no move or action to answer. "Hey… who…" Kero began.   
In the dark, a pair of ghostly gray eyes flashed open, shining in the moonlight they caught. A smirk crawled up beneath those haunting eyes, making the fur on his spine bristle with an icy shock. Kero flinched, sweat-dropping, and wheeled on air, calling, "Sakura! Li! Get away, its-" At that, the figure narrowed its eyes, lifting a gleam from his side and deftly twirling it in its fingers until the blade just a silver blur. Where the point struck air, a large black bubble seemed to appear from nowhere. Kero yelped, flapping desperately. It couldn't be! Not that spell! But the world Kero knew darkened, feeling the paralyzing orb race and collide with him, drawing him in. His voice muted to nothing, as the creature pounded against the side of his prison. Kero tried popping it by applying kicks and punches to the seemingly thin, black surface.   
"Too simple…" the figure mused to himself, stepping out from the shadowy grip of the forest and summoning the orb to his hand. "Hmm. The Guardian Beast and a Clow Card. Quite the catch." Through the wild black bangs, he allowed a light of amusement in his face, and then it hardened to serious. No time to laugh, he dictated himself. His rival was waiting. With that, he lifted the cowl back up around his head to conceal his face and nonchalantly slipped the orb into his pocket. No one heard Kero's warning.   


Sakura raced across the field, letting the Storm card slip from her grasp, and her face was dirt and tear smeared. The Card Captor clutched the Sealing Wand to her chest, feeling her heart thundering at her rib cage, and gasped for breath. It was dim around her, standing in the tall, grainy grass that nipped at her bare legs in the subsiding wind. The moon overhead was thin in the midnight blue sky, letting only a sliver of whitish light over the prairie overlooking Reedington. "Li!" she called again, soft green eyes misting over with tears again. "Li please answer me!" Her voice began to crack and burn dryly in her throat.   
No answer.   
Sakura flickered her eyes across the field once again, only to see the same, silent flowers blossoming to the moon and stars. Another flashback wavered in her mind, water colored from time, and it showed Li bursting through the window of the clock tower and landing easily on his feet. She gulped down her pressing fear, and forced her swirling emotions and mind to take action. Crying and wandering isn't going to help, she convinced herself. Pulling a Clow Card from her peach-highlighted angel battle costume, the girl lifted it to her forehead, sighed a deep breath through her tight throat, and began.   
"Glow card," she said, flinging the glowing card out before her. An intricate ring of gold light appeared beneath her, acknowledging her power. Sakura lifted her sealing wand, and twirling it agilely, struck the magical card in midair. "Light me a path to Li!" Instantly, after a breath of suspense, a string of tinted green light exploded from the wand, as light engulfed the card and harnessed its power, and shot across the prairie at a sharp left. In the soft glow of the firefly-like lights, it showed a mixture of pain, dread, and determination fighting for control of Sakura's face. She twisted her lips, then gathered up her courage, unsure of what she would find, and chased the lights to Li.   
With the wings of her costume slightly fluttering as she ran, Sakura Avalon kept her desperate green eyes glued to the path and ran without noticing she'd forgotten the Storm cloud; without noticing Kero hadn't congratulated her and without noticing the figure that sulked from the forest after her. Nothing mattered now but the safety of Li. Suddenly, as if they'd been put out like a flame, the glow died out and a dusty area rolled out before her, where the flowers had been ripped from the earth. Sakura staggered, nearly tripping as her foot caught in a furrow made by a falling object, and her heart felt like bursting in anguish.   
Li Showron lay unconscious on his back, still clutching the sparking hilt of his sword in numb fingers. His green, gold-framed cap had slid off his head and his wild brown hair bristled in the air. With his eyes sealed painfully, his face was twisted up subconsciously, and his entire body shuddered as he inhaled the cold night air. Where stones had struck him at impact, small lines of red traced down his skin. His left shoulder was twisted oddly under his back. Sakura instantly rushed to his side, dropping the wand beside her and lifting him to rest on her lap. "Can you hear me Li? Come on, wake up," she urged, cupping his chin in her hands. Sad, aqua-green eyes searched his still face for signs of consciousness, and finding nothing stirring, Sakura brushed the bangs from his face.   
As she glanced around, a burn of edginess flickered in her, feeling a strange chill, and the slight scorch of the lightning was still fresh along her ear and neck. She sighed deeply, knowing that her comrade was hurt enough for at least a few days at the clinic, and not knowing whether she needed to do something. After all, something could be broken or bleeding and she'd never know. "Oh Madison, I wish you didn't have to go on that vacation…" she said to herself, resting her face in her palm. "You'd know what to do."   
"Am I dead? I'm seeing an angel." A tired, strained voice said suddenly. Sakura gasped, and her misty green eyes were met with Li's, and instantly she wrapped him up in a tight embrace.   
"You're okay! You're okay!" she yelled triumphantly into the crisp night air, tightening her grip around his thin frame, forgetting her last moment's worries of broken bones or internal bleeding.   
"Sakura, take it easy," Li said quickly, before he had all the air squeezed out of him. Once she let go, he sat back and recovered his breath, worn out from the fall. Their eyes met often, and nervously flickered away from each other, like marbles scattering. Li sat cross-legged, and when he moved to slip his sword back into its holding, his arm sent spikes of pain up his chest and neck. Dropping the sword suddenly, he said, reaching up with his good arm, "I think it might be dislocated." Li's dark brown eyes met hers with a vulnerable light that was strange to overwhelm his prideful and cold personality. A slight blush dusted his cheeks as he flashed low and nervous glances at her, in such a beautiful angel costume.   
"Are you okay?" A shimmer of genuine concern lit up in her face, as she leaned forward, gently touching his shoulder.   
"Yeah, Sakura. I'll be fine," he replied quietly.   
A soft smile came to her face, and Sakura helped him up, allowing him to sling his arm around her shoulder. "Let's get you fixed up back home," she said contentedly, closing her marble green eyes as she leaned her head against his good shoulder. "Kero can take the card back for me." It was apparent she was too wrapped up by her joy and bliss to remember that she hadn't seen Kero, or to worry about it.   
Li smiled, watching her hair sway as she walked, and felt a strange bubbly feeling like champagne in his stomach. The Card Captor blinked, realizing. Could it be… that I… A slim tilt of his lips expressed the bliss had had now, and he confirmed it silently to himself. He didn't need to say it, just yet.   
Suddenly, the shivers of cold chills he'd shrugged off as a side affect of the night air intensified so much that he was shaking with cold, then stopped as suddenly as they began. Li stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily, and his eyes went wide with terror. The same chills evolved into the sense of someone breathing sinisterly down his neck, and by now Sakura had noticed it and opened her curious and worried green eyes. "Li?" she asked, feeling an unnerving ocean of silence envelop the wildflower field.   
"Looking for me?" A voice said abruptly behind them. Both young Card Captors spun around, only to be faced with a pair of cold gray eyes, bordered by wild black bangs. The boy who stood before them, roughly about their age, had shed his dark cloak and the white, gray, and black robes nearly identical to Li's blended into the dark. The only thing to discern himself from the night was his golden sword.   
"Audrey," Li hissed.   


*******************   
Author's Notes:   
So how do you like it? I want to thank everybody who reviewed. It means a lot to me. Reviews are what make me want to write. Aww, my poor poor poor Syaoran! I'm sorry to torture you, but you are so cute when you are! R&R, as always!   



	3. Rival Clash

Sword - Chapter 3

Sword   
By Chustang Sundust   


Chapter 3   
"Rival Clash" 

  
  


Suddenly, there he was.   
Li narrowed his eyes, taking on a reddish-amber brown fury deep in them, and forced Sakura away roughly. With trained speed,the injured boy felt a surge of rivalry cause him to once again push himself to the limit. Although he knew the consequences of the last time he'd seen the fury of battle with the dark-haired magician, he knew it was inevitable. He'd tracked him all the way here, and it was clear the black fire in his ghostly gray eyes held no compassion for him. With anguish rattling through his thin frame, Li skillfully used his good arm to recover his sword and draw it one handedly up to the ready.   
The Card Captor sucked in sharp, painful breath and said in an exhausted and raspy voice, "I thought you forgot, Audrey." A chilly wind left over from the dark whirl of the Storm Card blew in his sweat darkened bangs, and he suddenly trembled with under the burden of his heavy sword, wincing from the pain burning white hot in his arm although he moved it little. "You... were supposed to be dead, you know," he breathed to the silent, wincing again as he had to adjust the hilt in his hand.   
Behind him, Sakura held her breath, and her misty green eyes widened in fear. She gently placed her hand on his good shoulder and triedto pull to face her, but he turned a cold shoulder and roughly wrenched it from her grasp. "Li, your hurt! Don't do anything foolish," she warned, tearing up slightly as she got the rebuke. But her face remained tight and she pulled her lip over her top one. The wind brushed her hair across her face, and she held her hand instinctively to her cheek, slightly balling her fist as she saw her precious Li stagger forward. His good hand was straining around the hilt. "...Your sword is too heavy!" she warned at last, summing up enough courage to defy him again. Her voice was sharp. "Just back down, I can handle it!"   
He turned fierce but emotional brown eyes to her, only slightly shifting to face her, and said simply in his firm, reassuring voice scratched with exhaustion, "Sakura... I don't want you hurt." As she locked eyes, it was almost as if there was... fear there? Was he afraid? she thought to herself. But... he's never afraid of anything like this! Shivering in her angel costume, the Card Captor sighed softly and held back obediently, trusting that Li's hard trained fighting instincts would be enough.   
"Good luck," she whispered breathlessly. 

Audrey snorted to himself with his thin lips pursed smugly around a smirk. From beneath the whipping mass of malicious black hair, his stormy gray eyes were reflecting the moonlight, making them appear to glow. Although he sensed weakness in Li's pause, the skilled magician restrained himself from finishing off his rival so quickly. With sharp and expertly calculating eyes, he just allowed himself to sum up magic and watched the pair of Card Captors converse breathlessly. The young boy noticed the girl behind him, and assumed it was Sakura Avalon, the much more inexperience partner of Li. 'Just wait. You will humiliate him before his koi, Audrey, but its not egotistical to kill without explaining your master plan.'

  
The young magician drew his own, golden sword to the ready, lifting the blade before his face. He patiently waited for Li to face battle, with a hungry power humming along the hilt. "Come on, Mangy Wolf," he taunted, raising an eyebrow smugly. "You know what I came here for." His voice was low and surly against the whisper of the wind, but it carried to his brown haired rival. And struck his ears like poison.   
Whipping his head back to glare at his rival, Li frowned and tensed his fingers around the sword. "That's Little Wolf," he said in a dangerous voice back. Through his amber-brown bangs, his golden brown eyes sparked fire back as he frowned his lips.   
"Oh, no need to degrade yourself like that. We're all friends here, aren't we?" Audrey replied smoothly. He had arrogantly stabbed the sword into the soft, dark soil and was leaning jauntily against the hilt. The slim boy pretended to look over his nails, then, pausing, flashed sharp gray eyes up. His voice deepened to an ominous roll of words, barely audible but still cutting. "...Oh, that's right. Li Showron... you turned on me, didn't you? Even when I gave you your dream, your magic... kicked me out like trash, just because it seemed 'wrong' to you..." he hissed beneath his breath, narrowing his stormy eyes to be shaded by his wild black bangs. And in a flash of golden fury to reflect the moonlight, the thin-framed surrounded in lavish dark robes was airborne and whirling down in an expert attack.   
"Li!" Sakura cried.   
He lifted his sword to match the attack, red-hot pain voicing his arm's pain even as it hung limp at his side, and closed his fiery brown eyes in pain. The young boy bit his lip in anticipation as the golden glint in the gray painted sky whirled nearer, and strained his fingers over the hilt, feeling a desperate surge of lightning sparking at his fingertips. Li took a sudden ragged breath, quickly breathing the words to his chant, before the magic stirred enough to produce electricity. Was it too late? he asked himself. Face tightened in pain, he only could brace himself. Audrey was ready, and he wasn't.   
Thunder roared menacingly as the two blades clashed with heat sparking from impact. The screeching of the two different metals striking each other were only drown out by the thunderclaps emitting from the sword as it powered up. Li screamed in pain, as he felt his dark-haired rival block his own sword and press the flat side against his injured shoulder. White-hot pain flared up in his chest, and gritting his teeth, the Card Captor managed to crack one eye open. Narrowing golden brown fury at Audrey, Li said through clenched teeth, "Why come back now? Why didn't you finish me off before I left?" As he stared into the cold, steely eyed face of his rival, which was partially concealed in the whipping black bangs, he secretly was slipping his blade out from beneath the dark-haired magician, despite the danger of his golden sword cutting him. His lips creased slightly into a frown, his expression fiery through his thick brown hair and glaring eyes. "... Besides... I said I was sorry long ago, Audrey."   
As the magician was supported in midair by the magic rushing the length of his blade, he narrowed his stormy gray eyes beneath a smirk. Then, pausing, he cooed dangerously, "Apology not accepted, Mangy Wolf."   
"That's Little Wolf!" he snapped. And in a surge of determination, he forced his injured arm up, even as it drowned in a sea of white-hot pain, and violently jerked the hilt of his sword toward Audrey. It struck forcefully in his stomach, causing his rival to jolt back in pain and surprise, and the magician lost his pressure on the other sword and was cast out. Fear twisted up his face, as the dark robed boy struggled to regain himself and readied himself for impact, recovering his golden sword to the ready. His stormy gray eyes went wide, as he froze in fear, seeing Li defiantly lift his injured arm to his silver sword and took a ragged breath, breathing the words 'Rai tei sho rai!' repeatedly beneath his breath.   
A crack of thunder.   
Audrey fumbled over his own weapon, stumbling to sum up his own magical energy, still in danger of hitting the ground. He bitterly cursed to himself, jet-black bangs whipping over his paled skin.   
A surge of light.   
His hands tightened around the hilt, among the decorative gems and golden threads attached there. His haunting gray eyes narrowed, as minute flecks of red embers formed...   
Brilliant light spilled out light dust across the plain, whipping the grass into a surging sea of silvery green. A howling wind clawed at the two rival's faces as the first, florescent tinted sparks of lightning crackled along the glistening length of the sword. They clawed their way around the edges, cutting the night like knives as it was totally engulfed in lightning. Li's face twisted up in pain, and he could feel Sakura worry hang thick in the air. 

The hiss of flames.


	4. The Petals of the Sakura Blossom; Part 1

Sword   
By Chustang Sundust   


Chapter 4   
"Petals of the Sakura Blossom; Part 1" 

  
  


_No magic. No magic. No magic…_   
_ Taking his cold fingers out of his green velvet blanket, the lanky boy once again blinked brown eyes open to find the silent stars burning over the balcony. He didn't move from his semi-fetal position, lying out on his balcony with a green blanket curled around him, but only shivered, arms wrapped tightly to find warmth in his own flesh. Breathing a curl of smoky air, he turned amber-brown eyes to the gleaming presence beside him. It shined cold moonlight along the sharp edge, taunting him as the light caught in his eyes. Pausing, the boy looked around, then sat up, allowing the velvet warmth fall from his frame._   
_ Li reached for the hilt of the sword, and drew it up weakly to traverse his lap. His eyes came to rest on the long weapon, his own distraught face staring him back on its polished silver surface. Again, words of casual cruelness clashed at his mind, tearing like ravenous wolves at his innocence. Never again would he let them do that, to let them be true in their mocks and taunts. He wouldn't see the subtle disappointment becoming rising embers in his teacher's eyes. He would make sure of it, even if it meant sinking to their level…_   
_ 'Go find your teddy bear, poor Mangy Wolf. You know you don't have magic any more Li, and you never will again. All the acting in the world can't fix it, either…'_   
_ Damn you Audrey…_   
_ But despite all the curses and mental blockades he set up in his mind, those cold, mocking gray eyes still haunted him to no end, repeating smug words like a broken phonograph. Li couldn't escape what he said, because it was true. Ever since he had become ill with pneumonia and recovered, they had just been… gone. His magic, his lineage of such fine honing, what had caused brilliant pride in his family, had just been lost, forgotten to his body. The doctors said that his body was simply too tired and burnt out to access his powers right then, and he would be back to normal in a few weeks._   
_ That's what they said three years ago._   
_ Li staggered up, the heavy metal leaning against his side, and sniffed sadly, still feeling the twinge of anger at Audrey's words boil in his blood. Why was this happening to him? Couldn't he just keep his magic and have a happy life? Thin and weary, the nine year old kept the green velvet around him, holding the sword at his side, before wandering back into his room._   
_ Through matted bangs, his eyes fell once again to his sword, the symbol of prestige that had haunted him viciously now for the three years. Li settled himself at the edge of his bed, letting the blanket pool around him, and clutched the blade gently in his fingers, finding his own brown-eyed stare in it. He desperately wanted to know why he was being tortured so, tossed time and again in the impish hands of fate, and yet, he didn't. Li just wanted to sink back into his old existence, when his only concern was living and continuing on._   
_ Naiveness. That's what Audrey had mentioned once. That he didn't know jack in the steel-faced cruelty of life, and that one day, that if fate didn't deal him a justifiable hand, he would. He narrowed his eyes, feeling a sting burning red at the edges of them, and angrily clutched his hands._   
_ Instantly he yelped, realizing he had cut himself on his own sword. Then the presages of tears beckoned as he let the thing clatter to the ground and protectively clench and press his hands to his chest, wincing at the sting of his flesh wounds. The nine-year-old boy collapsed back onto the bed, finding a warm, fetal position in his lavish green blanket. He fell asleep to the echoes of taunts, still resounding in his mind._   
_ He would do it… if only this would end…_   
_After that day's training sessions, Li quickly adopted fresh clothes and was sprinting down to the yard to tend to his chores. In a mystifying flurry, the chickens found themselves drowning in bird feed and dazed as to what had happened. He swept the yard, lit the outside lanterns for dirt road as night began to fall, and tended to Meilin's brisk canary, which promptly whistled hello to him, then quirked in curiosity as he changed the water and food._   
_Once finished with his chores and presented with an hour of relaxation before bed, the winded boy patiently waited in his room, reading, with darting brown eyes flashing up to his teacher, waiting for him to enter his room. He slowly traced his movements, and finally, when he heard the door slide solidly shut, placed the thin, paperback book down, and skulked out of the house, as dusk claimed the horizon. He tightened his jacket around his body, clutching the warmth of a lantern to his chest, and silently walked out of the yard. He trekked bravely into blackness. He would find Audrey… he would do it._   
_"Don't turn back, Li," he said to himself, his breath clouding on his skin. "Don't even look."_   
_ His fist, numbed by the nip of night, found the door of Audrey's family. Shivering as he ventured his arms from the warmth of the lantern he held, Li knocked three times. He bit his lip, taking a sharp breath, and closed his eyes once, summing up the courage to ask for help he'd once vowed to never resort to. With mortified brown eyes turned toward the dirt, he heard the large wooden doors creak open, letting the light of the courtyard spill out upon his face. A thin gray eye, partially hidden by black bangs, peeked conceitedly down at him._   
_ "Sorry, no beggars past 6," the ebony-haired rival purred at him. Audrey narrowed his eyes at him, apparent of the grin on his face, and began to shut the door. "Come back tomorrow and try again."_   
_ "Wait!" Li piped up, in his cute, but slightly raspy voice. He pressed himself against the door, shoving it open. "I… I…--"_   
_ Audrey frowned down at him, letting the massive oak doors swing fully open. He stood before the thin little frame topped with wind-disheveled brown hair, and ignominy-filled brown eyes, in his black and blue robes, and smiled. Slinging his arm around the nine-year-old's shoulder, he stared him deep in too his eyes, making a sympathetic face. "Does little Li want something?"_   
_ Li gulped, casting his eyes away. "Well, I--"_   
_ Audrey socked his shoulder, frustrated. "Spit it out runt," he growled. "I've got stuff to do, which unlike you, requires magical strength."_   
_ He bit his lip, still choking on such discreditable words. The thin bundle of skin and bones was lost in his thick jacket, arms locked around the convulsing shoulders, and with misty puppy eyes that haunted behind concealing bangs, was perceptively wallowing in his own shame. Not to mention the growing disappointment radiating in his entire family. Audrey knew that even his preplanned fiancé hardly had the heart to watch him fumble with the forgotten magic. After all, as a member of the rival family of Li's, he had spied more than once._   
_ Li forced himself to stare down, tears begging to stream, with the words a burn at his throat._   
_ "I…want magic Audrey!"_   
_ Through malicious black bangs, a sinister smile formed slowly. His fingers came up in a snap. "It is done," he purred. "You want magic, Li Showron, you've got it."_   
_ Li stepped back in apprehension. All of a sudden, he realized… Audrey had…_   
_ …Black hair, gray eyes, dark robes that hung around his body like sinister black bat wings, and that unfathomable black glint to his eyes that, though hidden behind a façade of arrogance and acting, was still there, dangerous in its silence…_   
_ "Black magic…"_   
  
"No!" 

_"Audrey… no!" The nine-year-old pleaded, brown eyes like total fear blurred with tears, still beneath disheveled bangs. His hand went up, shielding him weakly as the older rival snatched it like a twig and forced an angry hold to keep him there. Malicious, Audrey met the frightened brown eyes with a grin, and twisted his arm behind his back._   
_ In a purring voice, he blew away a black bang with a puff of breath and said, "But you said you wanted this… You want magic, don't you Li?"_   
_ Tears ran freely down his face. He could feel Audrey's hand dig like death's hand itself, trying to tear away his soul, if only it would cause him pain for Audrey to enjoy. "No," he screamed. "I take it back! I take it back Audrey!"_   
_ "Oh, it's too late now."_

Again, amongst the white-hot pains, he screamed in dream. 

_Tears._   
_ Pain._   
_ And that damn light._   
_ Audrey brought it out from his pocket, and in the moonlight it seemed harmless enough. A little round thing that could have been an ornament that had nothing inside of it except for a few ashes. He brought it to his lips, whispered something, and drew back his arm._   
_ Li staggered back, feet slipping on the slightly damp earth and sending dirt flying at his heels, and he tripped on his feet, crawling madly back up. Adrenaline burned his veins and he only heard sodden earth slipping beneath him. Then the orb came slashing down, just as he was recovering himself, and seemed to pass straight into Li's back and burn into the sinew of his chest._   
  
"Audrey! Stop!" 

_Li came up, coughing violently. His shoulders racked, and as the pain died down, he reached up to his face, which was warm with blood. The eight-year-old's fingers came away from his lips stained red, and his face screwed up in pain and fear. His amber-brown eyes instantly flashed to his rival, who held up his hand ominously, with a dark glow growing in his palm._   
_ "Fight." Audrey's voice was deep and lacking all mischievous tone._   
_ "But… you know I don't have any magic," Li said, narrowing his eyes through tears. The shivering frame began to scoot back through the mud and grass. He bit his lip sharply, tasting blood again, and staggered up._   
_ Audrey's face lit up as a spark of fire materialized and grew, glittering with magic, until it was a blaze contained in the reaches of his fingers._   
_ "You do too. I gave it to you," he purred, gray eyes narrowing under black bangs._   
_ Li sucked in the pain, as he felt the burn from that orb flicker and inflame a dark feeling along his veins. Audrey's black magic. "It's not my magic… It's black. All of it! It's evil, isn't it Audrey?" Li asked defiantly, fire burning in his eyes as well as Audrey's palm._   
_ "No! Really? I thought it was just fine," Audrey played with him, but with less of a mocking voice and a deadly tone wrapped around it. The boy lifted his hand, the flame casting heat out far enough for Li to feel the tips of his fingers start to burn. He lifted his smile up in a smirk one last time. "Goodnight."_   
_ Suddenly the flame pounced from Audrey's palm like a tiger from brush and instinctively the eight-year old lifted his hands up to shield himself. Cringing back with fear and courage conflicting in his mind, he braced his foot into the mud, closing his eyes. Li just felt anger at Audrey, seeing that smirk on his face as he shot the flame at him._   
  
He squirmed in his sleep, desperately trying to break free of the dream. He knew what came next. 

_Li opened his eyes, feeling the hot roar suddenly leave, to see the arch of flame race over Audrey's head, barely missing it. It continued on its path over the high stone fence and landed with an eruption of spewing flames in the roof of Audrey's home. Audrey swore heavily, screaming out into the night. His dangerous gray eyes locked on Li, like a death glare shot straight through his heart. It promised sweet revenge in that fleeting second that the black magician paused before racing through the doors and up the stone path up to his flaming house._   
_ The shivering boy stood in simultaneously scorched and wet clothes. His shocked eyes slowly drifted down to his hands, still in muteness over how the fire had been redirected. As his innocent brown eyes adjusted to the night, he noticed a glow, faint but still there, around his fingers. He did have magic…_   
_ But it was all Audrey's…_   
_ Li turned, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes, and sprinted madly through bushes and dirt. He continually was tripping and scraping his knees on stones and twigs but keep running nevertheless. The eight-year-old felt night come down on his back, as cold as death itself. His teeth chattered as he ran back toward his house._   
_ Then, he stopped cold in his tracks. His legs wanted to buckle out at that sound, but his eyes wandered back against his will._   
_ The entire roof of Audrey's house collapsed in a dizzying spray of sparks, flames and ashes._   
  
"Li?"   


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Author's Notes   
Man… I really did take a while on that one. And I lied! I feel so bad… Hmm, I guess some GW mp3s and pocky will cheer me up. Homemade, crappy-American/Chustang version pocky I mean… You know how hard it is to get pocky? The lunch ladies look at you funny when you ask for food that sounds like hockey to them… -_-; Anyway, I know I said it would be one last chapter, but my mum is going kick me off soon so I thought post it quick. 


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